consulate in benghazi. benghazi is a city in the eastern portion of libya. as you know, libya had just gained independence really, had overthrown longtime authoritarian leader moammar gadhafi and was part of the arab spring. this was a positive story at the state department and very sad. >> here is the secretary of state. >> yesterday our u.s. diplomatic post in benghazi, libya, was attacked. heavily armed militants assaulted the compound and set fire to our buildings. american and libyan security personnel battled the attackers together. four americans were killed. they included sean smith, a foreign service information management officer, and our ambassador to libya, chris stevens. we are still making next of kin notification for the other two individuals. this is an attack that should shock the conscience of people of all faiths around the world. we condemn in the strongest terms this senseless act of violence, and we send our prayers to the families, friends, and colleagues of those we've lost. all over the world every day, american diplomats and develop